On Feb. 9, 1966, the city of Philadelphia was granted an NHL franchise thanks to the efforts of Ed Snider. But as of August of that year, the team remained unnamed.
For several months, Snider and his business partners weighed a few names, among them, the Sabres, Raiders, Royals, Knights, Keystones and Liberty Bells.
But, as Bill Meltzer recounts for the Flyers official website, it wasn't until a spring night in 1966 that Snider's sister, Phyllis, suggested the name, Flyers. Snider took to it immediately.
At the time, one junior hockey team held the same name, the Niagara Falls Flyers of the OHL.
With a name in mind, the Flyers held a "name the team" contest for the public. The contest winners chosen had suggested Flyers or Fliers in order to be eligible. The winner of the contest was nine-year-old Alec Stockard of Narberth, PA, who had submitted Fliers.
The name was officially announced at a press conference on the grounds of the Spectrum on Aug. 3, 1966.
Now that the team had a name, they also needed a logo. Snider turned to local firm Mel Richman, Inc., hiring Tom Paul as the head of the project. Sam Ciccone was the designer of the logo.
So where did the logo come from?
The use of orange came from the influence of Bill Putnam, a member of the original ownership group, who was a graduate from the University of Texas and a diehard Longhorns fan. The Sniders had wanted a color to compliment the use of black and white and approved of the use of orange as that color.
There were notable similarities to the Philadelphia Quakers, an NHL team that had just a two-year existence in 1930 and 1931. For one, the Quakers were a potential name for the franchise that actually received a high number of votes among ownership. The primary colors of the Quakers were orange and black.
Years later, Snider acknowledged that had they known of the Quakers similar color scheme, they would have gone a different direction, but that everything from the name to the logo to the colors on the sweaters were just what felt right.
50 years later, all of it has stood the test of time to become among the most recognizable in all of sports. And it all started with a simple suggestion and a "name the team" contest.
Kevin Durso is an editor for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
